


The Beginning of the Blood Rose

by Reecie



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Archer - Freeform, Free Company, Gen, Gridania (Final Fantasy XIV), Limsa Lominsa (Final Fantasy XIV), Ninja, Origin Story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-10-19 14:47:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20658989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reecie/pseuds/Reecie
Summary: A short story of how S'lvia Caide met the mysterious Valk Airdenta and joined the free company: The Blood Rose Legion





	The Beginning of the Blood Rose

The mid-day sun filtered through the treetops of The Black Shroud, speckling the dusty ground in light. Central Shroud was quiet, as merchants and adventurers walked the road from Blue Badger Gate to Bentbranch and beyond. Even the fungar were behaving themselves today; a nice change of pace from the norm. A young Miqo'te woman sporting a Twin Adder uniform by the name of S'lvia walked cheerfully towards Gridania, a simple patrol shift behind her. She had a liveliness in her step, causing her braided hair of red streaked with blonde to sway wildly behind her. As she hurried along, she heard the soft scrape of something rubbing against tree bark and stopped abruptly. In one quick, fluid motion, she grabbed the bow that hung on her back and nocked an arrow, spinning on her heel to aim into the branches of a tree behind her. The noise was different than simply a bird taking flight or a squirrel scurrying about; it was shorter, as if the one making it was trying to be as quiet as possible. The archer squinted her eyes and waited, listening.

She heard the noise again, a light, quick scratch to her right, causing her to immediately turn and fire. The arrow dug into the tree as she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. She gave chase, trying to keep up with the mysterious entity she could barely see. The thing bounced quickly from tree to tree, leading her east. It seemed to be moving in a predictable enough path to follow despite being too fast to see properly. She followed it all the way to Greentear, finally loosing it outside of the ancient tomb Spirithold. The Miqo'te scanned the area carefully; there had been news recently of increased imp activity in the tomb and she wondered if her mysterious quarry was one of them. Steeling herself, she stepped into the crumbling building, determined to find whatever it was she had chased this far.

She moved carefully through the rubble as syrphid clouds swarmed around her. The tomb was dark, but a few pillars held lit braziers which provided some flickering light. She was careful not to disturb any imps she came across, though a quick arrow shot took out any that took interest. She moved her way through the musty crypt to a far back corner, seeing no sign of the thing she had been hunting. She was about to give up and leave when she heard the scattering of rocks behind her. She spun, firing an arrow into the darkness, which hit a far wall and clattered uselessly onto the stone floor. Suddenly, there was a loud screech that caused her to wince. She turned to see a large imp, larger than any that she had come across up until this point, and it was already upon her. She couldn't grab another arrow quick enough as the imp raised a clawed hand to attack. She was bracing for the impact when something jumped out of the shadows and onto the imp, stabbing it in the back of the head. The imp fell to the ground and the humanoid shadow that had attacked it landed on top of it, taking their short blade once more and making the finishing blow. S'lvia kept her guard up, watching the figure as they wiped and sheathed their blade. She could see now that they were also a female Miqo'te, with bright white hair cut short and choppy, and wearing the dark clothes of a ninja.

“Thanks, bait.” the white Miqo'te said, taking a few steps towards the archer.

“Wait, what?” The insult took her off guard and she lowered her weapon.

“Bait.” the ninja repeated. She gestured towards the dead imp. “That was Alux; he has been on the grand company's radar for a while. But shouldn't you know that, Adder?”

“U-um, yeah, of course I did!” S'lvia stammered, vaguely remembering a notice posted back at the nest. The ninja scoffed.

“Anyway, I had been looking for a way to lure him out and you did your job perfectly.”

“What are you talking about!?”

“What?” The ninja crossed her arms, giving her a smug smirk. “Did you really think you were such a good tracker to follow me all the way here, but then get ambushed by this big clumsy thing?”

“That was you?”

“Yes that was me. Believe me, you would've never been able to track me if I hadn't been letting you.” She stretched her arms and flicked her tail. “But, jobs done now and I don't need you anymore. Later, bait.” She disappeared suddenly into the shadows.

“Hey! Wait!” S'lvia ran out of the tomb and back into the forest. She stopped outside of the entrance and looked around, but the mysterious ninja was no where to be found.

* * *

Weeks passed and S'lvia barely gave the ninja another thought. She was visiting Limsa Lominsa, doing some odd jobs and helping the people, when she came across a Miqo'te within the Drowning Wench recruiting for her free company. Her hair was black with streaks of blue, she had a purple butterfly on her right cheek, and, by the look of the carbuncle at her side and the book at her hip, she seemed to be an arcanist. She was also shouting at anyone willing to lend her an ear.

“You there!” she said cheerfully, pointing at S'lvia as she walked by. “You look like a lady who enjoys a good adventure.”

“Good guess, considering we are in the adventurer's guild.” S'lvia pointed out.

“Oh! I suppose you're right about that!” She giggled, apparently having not thought of that. S'lvia smiled at her in spite of herself. “Scratch that then! Hi! I'm Trionfi.” She held out her hand.

“S'lvia.” She took her hand and shook it.

“Well met, S'lvia! I am starting a new free company here in Limsa. It's called The Blood Rose Legion and we are looking for some recruits to help get us started. Are you interested in joining? We have a house, in the Mist, on the beach, it's pretty awesome...” S'lvia considered for a moment. She had recently began considering branching out and something about Trionfi's personality was infectious.

“Sure, I'd be willing to give you guys a try.”

“Yay!” Trionfi cheered. “OK, come on, follow me!” She lead S'lvia to their company house, which was in fact a stone's throw away from the beach. The front walkway was crowded with trees so that the building was barely viable beyond them. The interior was homey and welcoming; Trionfi led her upstairs to what looked like an office, decorated with portraits of various famous figures from all over Eorzea. She offered a chair to S'lvia before taking her own behind the trinket covered desk. They spent some time discussing the expectations and benefits of the free company when they heard footsteps in the hall and Trionfi's head shot up to look at the open door.

“Oh! Dave darling! Come here and meet our new recruit!” A tall, brunette Hyur stepped into the room, wearing a well-worn apron embroidered with chocobo chicks and heavy, soiled work gloves. He waved, saying nothing, before heading back on his way.

“Oh, hello again, bait.” A familiar female voice sounded out from the opposite side of the room, causing S'lvia to nearly jump out of her skin. S'lvia turned to see the white-haired Miqo'te ninja from Spirithold, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed and the same smug smile, but this time with a hint of interest in her eyes.

“Come now, Valk. Don't scare our new recruit.” Trionfi scolded.

“New recruit, huh? Well, I only have one word of advice for you, S'lvia was it? Keep up or get out of my way.” With that, she walked out of the room, flicking her tail in S'lvia's face as she did so.

“Don't mind her,” Trionfi reassured S'lvia, who was blinking the shock from her eyes. “She's just like that. But her bark is worse than her bite; she'll warm up to you eventually. I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of one those blades of hers, of course, but she usually saves those for people that have wronged her. So just don't do that and you'll be fine! Shall we?” Trionfi gestured her hand to a sheet of paper on the desk and handed a pen to S'lvia to sign the paperwork to join The Blood Rose Legion. S'lvia took a quick look out the door where Valk had left. There was something about that ninja that she felt drawn to. She had a feeling that, if she joined this company, she would never have a dull day. Nodding, she turned back and signed her name, starting her new adventure.


End file.
